Hi Pam

my understanding is that autism is a multilayered, multifactoral condition which can in some cases be improved by chelating out metals. I'm not sure cholesterol has anything to do with it. High cholesterol is a symptom of low thyroid, which is common in autistic children and mercury toxic people. I think researchers have found that more boys than girls are autistic because of the protective neurological effects of estrogen. This is a HUGE topic, but I think if you are looking at vaccinations / thimerosal / mercury as a cause, you should have a look at this forum

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Mercury/

here there are parents chelating their children on the Andy Cutler protocol, which is largely acknowledged to be the safest way of chelating mercury. Some parents have recovered their autistic children completely, others are in the process.

Good luck in your research!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Nicola